Alexander Grigoryevich Lukashenko has been the president of the Republic of Belarus since 1994. The country's government has been criticized as violating human rights under his command.

Alexander Grigoryevich Lukashenko has been the president of the Republic of Belarus since 1994. The country's government has been criticized as violating human rights under his command.

Photo: Kremlin.ru / Wikimedia Commons

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Wojciech Jaruzelski was Poland’s last communist dictator

Wojciech Jaruzelski was Poland’s last communist dictator

Photo: AFP/Getty Images

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Romanian dictator Nicolae Ceausescu and his wife Elena were rumored to have kept their own personal witch while they ruled their nation with iron fists. They were executed as their communist regime collapsed.

Romanian dictator Nicolae Ceausescu and his wife Elena were rumored to have kept their own personal witch while they ruled their nation with iron fists. They were executed as their communist regime collapsed.

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Miklós Horthy led the "white terror" after seizing power from Hungarian communists in the chaos following World War I and aligned with Nazi Germany at the start of in World War II.

Miklós Horthy led the "white terror" after seizing power from Hungarian communists in the chaos following World War I and aligned with Nazi Germany at the start of in World War II.

Photo: Wikipedia Creative Commons

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Joseph Stalin ruled over the Soviet Union from the mid-20s until his death in 1952.

Joseph Stalin ruled over the Soviet Union from the mid-20s until his death in 1952.

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Joseph Stalin overlooks the construction of the Moscow-Volga canal, built in part with slave labor. Tens of millions of Russians, Ukrainians and others were killed during his three-decade reign of terror.

Joseph Stalin overlooks the construction of the Moscow-Volga canal, built in part with slave labor. Tens of millions of Russians, Ukrainians and others were killed during his three-decade reign of terror.

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Ivan the Terrible ruled over Russia from 1533 until his death in 1547.

Ivan the Terrible ruled over Russia from 1533 until his death in 1547.

The sharply worded report is a slap at Western nations that have compared 58-year-old Belarusian strongman Alexander Grigoryevich Lukashenko to former Soviet dictator Joseph Stalin.

“‘The idea behind this report is to draw attention to the violation of human rights violations in those countries that traditionally represent themselves as ‘developed democracies.'” the Minsk regime writes.

Belarus, whose government has often been scorned by Western countries for its own human rights violations and repression of opposition groups and media, blasted the U.S. government for suppressing human rights, highlighting a Texas petition to secede from the U.S. following last year’s November election.

The White House in mid-January rejected the electronic petition signed by 125,746 people. The Obama administration also rebuffed secession petitions from other former Confederate states including Alabama, North Carolina, Florida, Louisiana, Georgia, and Tennessee.

The Belarusian report said the Obama administration’s unwillingness to consider the petitions “can be regarded as violation of the right to self-determination.” It also echoed Texas Gov. Rick Perry’s criticism of Obama administration economic stewardship.

“The Texas’ petition gathered more than 125,000 signatures,” the report noted. “The petition points out that the U.S. economic travails resulted from the federal government’s failure to reform fiscal policies.”

In a long list of human rights violations, the report also points to the police crackdowns on the Occupy Wall Street movement and anti-NATO demonstrations last year, concerns over government unauthorized wiretapping, Washington, D.C.’s lack of representation in Congress, and the Obama administration’s use of drone strikes.

The U.S. State Department declined to offer an immediate response. A department spokesman said he was unaware of the Belarusian report until contacted by the Houston Chronicle.

Belarus, formerly known as the Soviet Socialist Republic of Byelorussia (White Russia), is wedged between Lithuania, Poland, Ukraine and Russia in Eastern Europe. The nation of 9.5 billion people has a Gross Domestic Product of $150 billion and an unemployment rate estimated at 1 percent.

Here’s a brief description of the Belarusian economy from — of course — the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency:

“As part of the former Soviet Union, Belarus had a relatively well-developed industrial base; it retained this industrial base — which is now outdated, energy inefficient, and dependent on subsidized Russian energy and preferential access to Russian markets — following the breakup of the USSR. The country also has a broad agricultural base which is inefficient and dependent on government subsidies.

“After an initial burst of capitalist reform from 1991-94, including privatization of state enterprises, creation of institutions of private property, and development of entrepreneurship, Belarus’ economic development greatly slowed. About 80 percent of all industry remains in state hands, and foreign investment has been hindered by a climate hostile to business.”